About

Fallen: a Novel of Life, Death, and the Beginning

$6,065

pledged of $5,750 goal

61

backers

Love takes action - the Creator God establishes the cosmos and shapes a man. Adam rises from the dust. Envious, the powerful angel Lucifer despises him. Oblivious to the threat, Adam is captivated by his strong, intuitive wife Eve. In the Garden of Eden, they enjoy abundant food, gorgeous vistas, and intriguing challenges, including their budding love and passion. They have it all!

But Lucifer's deceptive brilliance tricks them into disobeying God. They eat the one forbidden fruit. Their innocence is shattered. Their unity with one another and with God is destroyed. Death will follow. Lucifer's jealousy threatens mankind’s tenuous beginning. But God is merciful. What astonishing promise does He make? How will Adam and Eve survive - broken, shattered, and separated from God? Is there any hope?

The story in Genesis 1-3 is the foundation of human history. Fallen is OUR story. Our genesis and our roots are here.

Human beings were created in God’s image. Therefore we are complex. We have a sense of self awareness, an inner voice that we call our consciences, and the ability to reason. We form relationships based on mutual dialogue and trust. We are creative. Our souls are eternal.

Though we were made in the image of God, our natures were broken when sin came into the world through our own rebellion. So, not only do we have great capacity for creativity, kindness, and intellect, but we also have the ability to commit cruelty driven by our selfish brokenness. We even tear ourselves down with negative selftalk.

How did this happen? What were we before this brokenness occurred? Why would we choose to break something so beautiful?

The early chapters of Genesis tell us. From the events in the beginning we discover the answers to our most basic questions:

How did evil come into the world?

Does God have a plan?

Why does it often look as if evil triumphs?

What forces are at work in the world today?

What is the big picture?

Does God know and love me?

Most of us don’t know the answer to these questions. We aren't aware that God had his plan of redemption in place before he even began creation.

Jesus used parables to convey truth. Fiction is the modern-day parable. A well-told story touches our hearts, affecting our beliefs and our sense of self. Portraying the spiritual battle that rages unseen and the sovereignty of God over it all, Fallen touches us in a powerful way through story.

Why do I need YOUR help?

I'm author Melinda V. Inman. I’ve blogged numerous times about the topsy-turvy publishing world. The entrance of Amazon, free e-books, and indie publishing has changed everything for both readers and writers. For great stories to come to light, readers and authors must cooperate. Otherwise, good books are buried in the 8-million-deep Amazon book pile.

Kickstarter crowdfunding provides a powerful tool for cooperation! This method raises awareness of good stories before publication and invests contributors in the success of those stories, thus producing more readers once the stories are released.

Fallen is edited, polished, and ready to go!

In March 2014 Koehler Books published my first novel, Refuge, part of the Genesis series with Fallen. With your help I'm now funding my publisher's production of Fallen. Yes, you read that right!

By funding Koehler Books’ professional editing, design, and distribution work on this project, I keep total creative control and all the rights to my work while still maintaining professional production standards and availability through all major distributors. AND, I bring YOU the next in the series!

This guarantees a high quality product for YOU!

I will also be able to sell BOTH my novels from my own website now and to control prices on all other distribution channels, thus enabling me to offer my stories for a lower cost to my readers. This indie venture will also allow me to produce even more stories in the future.

This enables me to keep my readers and their needs first - that's YOU!

How does this work?

Kickstarter is a well-established crowdfunding platform where contributors like YOU help artists, filmmakers, musicians, writers, and other creatives launch their projects.

“Crowdfunding” is when a crowd of people funds a creative project.

How much is needed to publish Fallen:

I am requesting $5,750 as my minimum budget. With those funds I will pay for the editing (content and copy editing), book and cover design, and publishing costs for paperback and e-book. The funds will also cover the incentives I'm offering to YOU for your participation, will pay the taxes - Kickstarter funds qualify as income for me, and will provide Kickstarter their small percentage for using their crowdfunding platform. Receiving MORE than my minimum, over and above my requested amount, will provide me with funds to market Fallen.

How to contribute:

Click the "Back this Project" button.

Enter your pledge amount.

Choose your reward or incentive.

Sign in with Facebook or give Kickstarter your email information, choosing whether or not you want additional info.

Kickstarter will then ask you to log into Amazon, which handles all the payments.

Amazon won’t take any of your funds until the Kickstarter campaign ends and then ONLY IF the campaign is successful.

So, while we CAN exceed the minimum and provide for the costs of marketing Fallen, if we don't raise the TOTAL amount of $5,750, you keep your money, no one gets the incentives, and Fallen is not published. Essentially, everyone loses! And surely the Apocalypse can't be far behind!

This is why it's so important to spread the word! Please tell others! Even if you can't make a pledge, you can still help by posting about this campaign on social media.

Risks and challenges

The novel is ready to be submitted for professional editing and production, so I foresee no reason there would be any delays, risks, or challenges. If all the funds are raised, Fallen is ready to go. But I am not omniscient. If tragedy or disaster occurs, production could unforeseeably be slowed. So, it is possible Fallen might not release until later than anticipated.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $75 or more
About $75

A Shout Out on Melinda's website Supporter's Page, one free Ebook, one free signed paperback copy of Fallen, AND your name listed on the Dedication Page inside the actual novel. Thank you so very much!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $100 or more
About $100

A Shout Out on Melinda's website Supporter's Page, one free Ebook, one free signed paperback copy of Fallen, your name listed on the Dedication Page inside the actual novel, AND Melinda will tweet your generosity far and wide. Thank you so very much!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $250 or more
About $250

A Shout Out on Melinda's website Supporter's Page, one free Ebook, one free signed paperback copy of Fallen, your name listed on the Fallen Dedication Page, Melinda will tweet your generosity far and wide, AND secret views of the opening chapters before publication. Thank you so very much!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

A Shout Out on Melinda's website Supporter's Page, two free signed paperback copies of Fallen, your name listed on the Fallen Dedication Page, Melinda will tweet your generosity far and wide, secret viewings of opening chapters before publication, AND a private one-on-one discussion (by phone or in person if you live nearby) with Melinda about the book. Thank you so very much!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,000 or more
About $1,000

A Shout Out on Melinda's website Supporter's Page, your name listed on the Fallen Dedication Page, Melinda will tweet your generosity far and wide, Melinda in person, AND five signed copies for you, your friends, and/or your family members. Melinda will come to your church or other venue to discuss Fallen, her research, the writing process, and her reasons for writing this story. For events at great distance from her home state, travel expenses will need to be provided. Thank you so very much!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $2,500 or more
About $2,500

A Shout Out on Melinda's website Supporter's Page, your name listed on the Fallen Dedication Page, Melinda will tweet your generosity far and wide, a private one-on-one discussion with Melinda about the book, Melinda in person at your church or other venue (for events at great distance from her home state travel expenses will need to be provided), ten signed copies for you, your friends, and/or your family members, AND Melinda will hug you so tightly you won't be able to breathe. Thank you so very much!